While it’s true that Gen Z might not be motivated by a traditional hustle culture mentality, especially since being overworked and underpaid is the rule rather than the exception, their reality is much different from that of their parents or grandparents, who simply built a life on a single 9-to-5 job.
This stigma of “laziness” perpetuated by older generations has added fuel to the disconnect and divide — something a healthcare worker was quick to point out on Reddit following a conversation with a boomer in the grocery store.
A healthcare worker said he was scolded by a boomer for ‘only’ working 3 days a week — ‘You need to be a provider.’
“We were at the grocery store, and some boomer asked me if I was a stay-at-home dad,” the man wrote in a since-deleted post. I work three [12-hour] days (night shift) a week … I take my kids everywhere.”
After responding to the unprompted conversation and telling the man that “no,” he both works and takes care of his kids during the week, the boomer’s attitude quickly changed. “[He] goes on about how ‘that’s not work,’ and I had to tell him full-time for me is these [12-hour] shifts during the week.”
“I just ignore the guy and I can tell he starts to get heated,” he wrote. “[He] goes off about ‘how can I afford a house only working 3 days?’ and I just tell him [we have] double incomes. I make good money on my own and my wife makes even more money than me. The guy just can’t believe it.”
The boomer seemed to struggle with the idea that his family didn’t have a traditional male provider and female caregiver.
After hearing that the man’s wife technically makes “more money” than he does, it was as if he was personally offended.
The healthcare worker wrote, “He starts blabbering about ‘how can she make more money than me?’ and ‘how I need to provide and how I’m not a man with the kids at home.’ I just smiled and told him to [expletive] off.”
While it might’ve been a sustainable reality when this boomer was raising his own children, being a “stay-at-home” parent today is almost impossible — many people don’t have the financial freedom or time to dedicate to working full-time at home with their kids.
Many older generations cannot grasp that times have changed from when they grew up, including the economy and cultural standards.
Working “hard” is not enough to make a living. People are no longer afraid to express their identities, marry who they please, and ditch ignorant gendered stereotypes about the type of work they’re inclined to do.
Stock Rocket / Shutterstock.com
Younger generations want a more socially aware culture where splitting parenting responsibilities and prioritizing mental health and work-life balance are the norms.
Of course, it’s unfair to dismiss all baby boomers as misguided. “I’m a boomer,” one commenter wrote. “How many hours you work is your business, not mine. Yes, I’ve worked hard at some awful jobs in my life … But if we can’t make things better for the younger generations, what’s the point?”
Many young people feel that boomers have a sense of superiority over right and wrong.
While this man’s experience was focused on workplace expectations, many young people have reported their distaste for what they have labeled “boomer entitlement.”
Boomers have a different perspective on the way the world works, and that’s totally normal. It happens with every generation.
From the ability to purchase a home to the definition of a provider to the competency of young adults, boomers often have misguided views, informed by their own experience as adolescents and adults entering the workforce. So, while this boomer man might consider working 40 hours and not being a stay-at-home parent to be the exemplary vision of a provider, the truth is that’s an outdated ideal.
Family dynamics are uniquely different now — especially in an economy where two working adults can hardly support their family’s needs.
Related Stories From YourTango:
Yes, these boomers might feel a sense of superiority for having built successful lives for themselves, but assuming their definition of success is accessible now, feels ignorant.
“I’m lucky enough during this time that I have a good job, am healthy, and am able to care for my kids,” the man concluded. “I headed out with a big smile, not taking [any of that] for granted.”
Zayda Slabbekoorn is a News & Entertainment Writer at YourTango who focuses on health & wellness, social policy, and human interest stories.
